No.  95. 


IN  ASSEMBLY,  FEB.  13, 1849. 


REPORT 

Of  the  committee  on  colleges,  academies  and  common 
schools,  on  the  application  of  the  New- York  Histori- 
cal Society. 

The  committee  on  colleges,  academies  and  common  schools,  to 
which  was  referred  the  memorial  of  the  New-York  Historical  Socie- 
ty asking  an  appropriation  towards  the  erection  of  a  fire  proof 
building  for  the  said  society, 

REPORT : 

That  in  considering  the  said  memorial  of  the  New-York  Histori- 
cal Society,  your  committee  have  chiefly  endeavored  to  enquire, 
whether  the  interests  of  the  State  are  at  all  concerned  in  the  mat- 
ter? 

The  New-York  Historical  Society,  founded  in  1804,  originally  in- 
corporated February  10,  1809,  has  for  its  object  to  discover,  procure 
and  preserve,  whatever  may  relate  to  the  natural,  civil,  literary  and 
ecclesiastical  history  of  the  United  States  in  general  and  of  the  State 
of  New-York  in  particular.  The  chief  names  of  the  State  during 
the  present  century  are  to  be  found  among  the  officers  or  members. 
Egbert  Benson,  Gouverneur  Morris,  De  Witt  Clinton,  David  Hosack, 
James  Kent,  Morgan  Lewis,  Peter  G.  Stuyvesant,  Peter  Augustus 
Jay  and  Albert  Gallatin,  have  successively  been  the  presidents  of 
the  society,  the  last  of  whom  still  occupies  the  chair,  and  is  the  only 
survivor  of  this  illustrious  list. 

[Assembly,  No.  95.]  1  [u.n.5t.] 


2 


[Assembly 


"In  1809,"  says  the  executive  committee  of  the  society  in  their 
annual  report  for  1847,  "the  Academy  of  Arts,  then  a  popular  and 
flourishing  institution,  occupying  the  edifice  known  as  the  Govern- 
ment house,  at  the  Bowling  Green,  invited  the  society  to  occupy  a 
vacant  room  in  that  building,  and  the  library  was  accordingly  there 
established. 

"In  1816,  on  the  sale  of  the  Government  house,  the  corporation  of 
the  city  provided  accommodations  for  this  and  other  public  bodies  in 
the  building  then  called  *  the  New-York  Institution/  in  the  rear  of 
the  City  Hall.  In  1832  the  library  and  collections  were  removed  to 
a  new  hall  in  Remsen's  building  at  the  corner  of  Broadway  and 
Chamber  streets,  from  whence,  in  1837,  they  were  again  removed  to 
the  building  on  Broadway,  known  as  the  Stuyvesant  Institute.  In 
1844,  an  arrangement  was  effected  with  the  government  of  the  uni- 
versity, by  which  the  rooms  since  occupied  by  the  society  were  se- 
cured for  a  term  of  years. 

"  The  collection  thus  begun  forty  years  ago,  notwithstanding  the 
inconveniences  and  discouragements,  as  well  as  the  inevitable  losses 
attending  frequent  removals,  has  grown  to  be  one  of  great  interest 
and  importance.  Instead  of  a  few  shelves  in  the  city  library,  or  a 
small  room  in  the  Government  house,  the  library  now  occupies  a 
large  space,  and  increasing  steadily  from  year  to  year,  will  ere  long, 
require,  and  it  is  hoped  will  find,  more  ample  accommodations  than 
are  now  provided." 

The  predictions  of  the  executive  committee  just  quoted  have  already 
become  facts,  and  the  halls  not  ample  in  1816,  are  no  longer  large 
enough  to  contain  the  collections  of  the  society.  The  printed  books, 
about  15,000  in  number,  now  cover  completely  the  walls  of  the 
principal  room,  while  the  cabinet  of  curiosities,  2,000  maps,  and 
1,400  large  volumes  of  bound  newspapers,  fill  two  other  apartments 
and  even  the  entrance  hall  adjoining. 

The  chief  attraction  of  the  library,  however,  is  a  rare  collection  of 
nearly  fifteen  thousand  manuscripts,  all  accurately  catalogued,  and  ac- 
cessible without  trouble.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  nature  of  these  pa- 
pers, your  committee  subjoin  a  list,  prepared  by  the  librarian  of  the 
society: 


No.  95 1 


3 


New-York  Historical  Society. 

Among  the  manuscripts  belonging  to  the  society,  are  the  follow- 
ing: 

The  papers  of  Major  Gen.  Lord  Sterling,  5  vols. 

"  "  "            Gates,  30  vols. 

*  "  Steuben,  20  vols. 
"  Lieut.  Gov.  Colden,  4  vols. 

Gov.  DeWitt  Clinton,  10  vols. 

"  Gov.  Jay,  1  vol. 

"  P.  M.  Gen.  Osgood,  1  vol. 

"  Rev.  Dr.  Miller,  2  vols. 

"  Gen.  W.  Stewart,  1  vol. 

"  Col.  Allen  McLane,  2  vols. 

"  Col.  William  Duer,  2  vols. 

"  Dr.  H.  Williamson,  1  vol. 

"  James  Alexander,  1  vol. 

"  Daniel  Horsmander,  1  vol. 

"  President  Weare,  15  vols,  (deposite.) 

The  Leisler  papers,  1  vol. 

The  Lord  Bellomont  papers,  1  vol. 

The  Bayard  papers,  1  vol. 

The  Schenectady  papers,  1  vol. 

Sir  William  Johnson's  letters,  1  vol. 

Revolutionary  papers,  miscellaneous,  2  vols. 

*  army  orders,  25  vols. 

Journals  of  the  Brittish  House  of  Commons,  1650—1676,  16  vols. 
Boundary  papers,  East  Jersey  and  New- York,  1672-1768,  3  vols. 

"  New-York  and  Connecticut,  1  vol. 

"  Massachusetts  and  New-York,  1773-1803,  1 

vol. 

Duane^s  State  of  the  case  between  New- York  and  New-Hamp- 
shire, (the  controversy  about  the  grants,)  1  large  folio. 

Original  book  of  Surveys  in  New- York  and  New-Jersey,  1715  to 
1727,  1  vol. 

Original  Minutes  of  the  New-York  Assembly,  1698  to  1705,  1 
vol. 

Original  Minutes  of  the  Assembly,  from  1777  to  1793,  kept  in 
part  by  McKesson,  and  among  his  papers,  in  13  vols. 

Miscellaneous  papers  and  original  documents,  principally  relating 
to  New-York.  1650  to  1800,  2  vols. 


4 


[Assembly 


And  a  great  many  other  valuable  original  manuscripts,  all  cata- 
logued, and  numbering  nearly  15,000. 

Whether  this  State  has  any  concern  in  the  preservation  of  such 
document's  as  the  original  minutes  of  its  Assembly,  from  1698  to 
1705,  and  from  1777  to  1793,  or  the  original  book  of  surveys  in 
New- York  and  New^Jersey,  from  1715  to  1727,  is  a  question  not 
difficult  to  answer.  The  thirty  volumes  of  Gates  Papers,  illustrating 
as  they  do  the  brightest  military  achievement  that  has  yet  graced  the 
annals  of  New- York,  are  alone  enough,  in  the  judgment  of  your 
•committee,  to  justify  the  State  in  taking  measures  to  preserve  the 
whole  series  of  manuscripts. 

The  Historical  Society  is  still  a  tenant  of  the  University  of  New- 
York,  and  occupies  apartments  in  the  upper  stories  of  the  University 
buildings;  an  edifice  with  wooden  floors  and  partitions,  and  peculiar- 
ly exposed  to  fire  from  the  carelessness  of  students,  as  well  as  from 
the  stoves  used  in  the  chapels  below.  But  last  week,  the  smaller 
chapel  was  on  fire,  and  its  interior  completely  burned  out.  The 
books  and  manuscripts  of  'he  Historical  Society  were  hastily  carried 
into  a  neighboring  church,  and  although  saved  from  destruction,  they 
annot  have  escaped  serious  damage.  Some  books  must  have  been 
lost — more  must  have  been  almost  spoiled  by  the  water;  a  stronger 
argument  in  behalf  of  a  fire-proof  hall  cannot  be  desired. 

The  State  of  New-York  is  not  a  little  indebted  to  the  petitioners 
tor  rescuing  from  obscurity  her  early  annals.  A  taste  for  antiquarian 
research  has  been  fostered,  which  has  found  its  exponent  in  the  la- 
bors of  Broadhead  and  O'Callagan.  "  New-York  under  the  Dutch," 
has  been  proven  no  unworthy  parent  of  New-Yorkers. 

In  the  language  of  the  report  quoted  before,  "  the  books  and  manu- 
scripts of  the  society  are  not  of  an  age  of  uncertainty,  doubt,  and 
speculation;  of  gigantic  edifices  reared  for  objects  without  meaning, 
but  of  an  age  which  witnessed  the  prowess  and  the  progress  of  intel- 
lectual, moral  and  religious  liberty,  the  enfranchisement  of  a  great 
people,  and  the  founding  of  a  mighty  empire. 

The  series  of  newspapers  is  peculiarly  valuable.  There  is  a  per- 
fect file  of  the  original  edition  of  the  Moniteur  Universelle,  from  May 
3d,  1789  to  April  1,  1815 — fifty-four  years,  which  comprehends  the 
whole  career  of  Napoleon.  Joseph  Bonaparte,  the  ex  King  of  Spain, 
offered  the  society  $1000  for  these  volumes.    It  may  be  worth  while 


No.  95.1 


5 


to  remark,  that  subsequent  editions  of  the  Moniteur  are  understood 
to  have  been  altered  for  reasons  of  state,  and  the  original  journal,  so 
far  as  possible,  suppressed. 

Some  bound  volumes  of  hand-bills,  proclamations,  and  ballads, 
issued  just  before  and  during  our  Revolutionary  war,  form  a  valuable 
element  in  American  history,  by  showing  the  spirit  of  the  people  in 
those  stirring  days. 

Among  the  maps  are  many  surveys  of  various  parts  of  this  staie, 
by  Simeon  De  Witt,  and  an  extremely  valuable  map  of  aboriginal 
New-York,  as  known  to  the  Indians,  drawn  on  vellum,  by  Lansingh 
Thurber  of  Utica. 

There  is  also  a  cabinet  of  coins,  a  large  mass  of  Indian  dresses, 
weapons,  and  utensils,  from  the  far  west.  There  are  trophies  from 
the  Mexican  war,  Aztec  and  Toltec  idols  from  the  Pyramid  of  Cho- 
lula,  and  from  Yucatan  a  large  number  of  earthenware  vessels  of 
workmanship  superior  to  any  yet  brought  to  light,  taken  from  a 
mound  near  Merida,  by  Don  Alonzo  Manuel  Peon,  of  that  city,  an 
active  member  of  the  society.  The  New-York  Historical  Society 
does  not,  however,  appear  to  have  confined  itself  to  the  search  after 
the  annals  or  the  relics  of  the  past.  It  endeavors  to  secure,  too,  the 
history  of  the  present,  and  to  treasure  up,  as  each  event  passes  by  in 
the  revolving  cycle  of  time,  the  testimony  of  eye-witnesses.  For 
example,  during  the  progress  of  the  late  Mexican  war,  a  careful  col- 
lection was  made,  daily,  of  the  leading  journals  of  the  whole  coun- 
try. All  articles  of  an  authentic  character  that  related  to  the  war, 
were  cut  out,  and  being  arranged  in  a  series  of  volumes  in  chrono- 
logical order,  they  form  a  perfect  contemporaneous  history  of  Mexi- 
can affairs. 

Your  committee  are  informed  that  the  New-York  Historical  Socie- 
ty desires  to  construct  a  plain  but  graceful  building,  whose  chief 
merit  shall  be  that  it  is  fire  proof;  a  hall  which  may  afford  space 
and  security  to  the  library  it  already  possesses,  and  which  may  ena- 
ble its  officers  to  avail  themselves  of  many  existing  collections  now 
offered  to  the  society,  upon  the  sole  condition — security  against 
fire. 

The  State  of  New-York  has  ever  taken  the  lead  in  promoting  the 
cause  of  good  letters,  and  your  committee  believe  that  good  letters 


6 


|  Assembly 


demand  at  her  hands  the  efficient  preservation  of  all  authentic  ar- 
chives. 

They  therefore  recommend  that  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners  be 
granted,  and  report  a  bill  accordingly. 

ROB'T  H.  PRUYN, 
JAMES  W.  PEEKMAN, 
ALONZO  JOHNSON, 
J.  D.  BUTTON, 
G.  P.  DISOSWAY. 


iEx  ICtbrtH 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


When  you  leave,  please  leave  this  book 

Because  it  has  been  said 
"Ever'tbmg  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  book." 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Dl  rst  Old  York  Library 


